An enormous tragedy struck the United States on Wednesday night, marking America’s largest aircraft fatality event since 9/11. An army helicopter carrying three slides collided with an American Airlines plane over Washington D.C., resulting in an explosion and sending the plane plunging into the Potomac River. According to a report from ESPN, the plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, all of whom were members of the United States figure skating team. The team released an official statement following the news: “U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
President Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to question why the helicopter didn’t avoid the plane. He stated, “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn? Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
However, many are blaming Trump for the incident, pointing to policies and decisions he has implemented since returning to the Oval Office. One prominent Twitter user condemned him with the message: ‘”YOU DID THIS (President Trump). On your 2ND DAY, you: 1. Fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration 2. Fired the entire Aviation Security Advisory Committee 3. Froze hiring of all Air Traffic Controllers 4. Fired 100 top FAA security officers.”
Prevented? YOU DID THIS @realDonaldTrump.
On your 2ND DAY, you:
1. Fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration
2. Fired the entire Aviation Security Advisory Committee
3. Froze hiring of all Air Traffic Controllers
4. Fired 100 top FAA security officers pic.twitter.com/N6S7p8NGcf
— Andrew—New YouTube Channel @LiveFromTheResistance (@AmoneyResists) January 30, 2025
Responses to the President’s alleged involvement have been swift on social media. “Nobody in the federal workforce can concentrate on their jobs with the mass firings and chaos. Expect much worse going forward,” one user lamented. Another added, “The question they will not answer is, with all these so-called savings, what are the taxpayers getting back?” Meanwhile, a user remarked, “Remember when MAGA blamed Buttigieg for every catastrophe involving planes, trains, and automobiles?” Hopefully, investigators can determine exactly what led to this horrific incident.
